e46 M3s are getting cheaper

[jimbom30cab]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-BMW-M3-C ... 3241998%26

[Sanchez]

Cause the boot floors are falling apart more and more.

[steve_k]

If pony see's that he'll go into fit's & it could get messy

[pac1982]

Cause the boot floors are falling apart more and more.

I said this years ago about E46's on here and was more or less told i was talking bullshit & blowing the problem way out of proportion and in reality it was only a few cars effected.

Seeing just how common place it is these days I can sit back and feel smug with that "I told ya so kinda feeling"

the electrics are terrible on the E46 too I see the E46 as a stain on the history of the 3 series, its a shame because they look beautiful but the reason I like my BMW's is because of the engineering behind them. The E46 unfortunately lets the side down on that front

[zd3bx]

That's how much they are nowadays...

And it's also a pre-facelift convertible, so that affects the price.

Good solid facelift coupes are around £8-9k mark, and it's an M3, so has to be a manual

[bss325i]

Here we go!

That is cheap and the are certainly getting cheaper there is no denying that. The car jim linked up though is a higher mileage 2001 SMG convertible, the least desirable one and one of the earliest so that reflect the price.

As for boot floor cracking, its still very uncommon (although not unheard of) on cooking models but the chances of it happening on an M3, especially and SMG car as pretty much a given now as time has progressed. Later cars from 2005 on seem not to have been effected yet but only time will tell. My 4/2005 built car is 90k up and still no signs of cracking yet but if it does its no big deal.

Its a couple of day's work for any DIY'er to drop the rear axle, drill stop the crack/s and weld in 4 stregthening plates then its good to go.

Many of the cracked boot floors have been replaced by BMW under warranty but personally i would avoid buying one of these cars same as i would avoid buying a car thats had a rear quarter panel replaced.

As for the electrics being terrible, well that's b0llocks! The are based on the same electrical platform as the E38 E39 and E53.

Please tell me exactly what makes the electrical system so terible pac?

[jimbom30cab]

I've got an e46 and it's a really early one, 1998, it has no signs of cracking and the electrics work exactly how they did they day it was built.

Looks like I found a particularly cheap/old/less desirable model as an example.

Still a good buy though in my opinion

[bss325i]

Still a good breaker though in my opinion

EFA

As that car has quite good spec, it would break to close to double the asking price.

[Simon13]

my e46 still has an uncracked boot floor and the electrics all work Am i the lucky one according to the internet?

[jimbom30cab]

Lol, nice one

B7 - One for you ?

[bss325i]

Trust me, E46 M3's are very close to the point where perfectly usable examples will get fragged because its more economically viable to.

Thats where we were with E36 M3's only a couple of years ago and they're starting to get thin on the ground now.

[bss325i]

This looks a good shout,

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... iment=true

[harry_p]

Yep, we're due a rapid thinning in numbers of e46 m3s very soon.

Already lots with nankangs and eBay tat being glued to them. People with that sort of budget / mind set won't stomach proper servicing or boot floor repairs.

If you want one, its a good time to try and seek out a decent one for sensible money and I doubt you'll ever lose anything. Although there are also a lot of dreamers out there asking too much for very average cars. Not sure where e92 m3s are these days, but can't be long before they're putting pressure on top end e46s

[si911t]

Cause the boot floors are falling apart more and more.

I said this years ago about E46's on here and was more or less told i was talking bullshit & blowing the problem way out of proportion and in reality it was only a few cars effected.

Seeing just how common place it is these days I can sit back and feel smug with that "I told ya so kinda feeling"

the electrics are terrible on the E46 too I see the E46 as a stain on the history of the 3 series, its a shame because they look beautiful but the reason I like my BMW's is because of the engineering behind them. The E46 unfortunately lets the side down on that front

I have an e46 not a m3 a 320d touring 2005. Have had it for just over 6 yrs. In that time I have covered approx 130-135k miles, its was remapped the first week I bought it and has been driven harder than most on a regular basis.
During the six years and the 130k plus usage the ONLY thing other than service parts I have had to change was an alternator, which cost incl labour £145 (non bmw part).

So I for one totally disagree with your e46 analysis and can't recommend them enough.

[bss325i]

Yep, we're due a rapid thinning in numbers of e46 m3s very soon.

Already lots with nankangs and eBay tat being glued to them. People with that sort of budget / mind set won't stomach proper servicing or boot floor repairs.

If you want one, its a good time to try and seek out a decent one for sensible money and I doubt you'll ever lose anything. Although there are also a lot of dreamers out there asking too much for very average cars. Not sure where e92 m3s are these days, but can't be long before they're putting pressure on top end e46s

There certainly seems to be a split with E46 M3 owners. Non enthusiast types seem to be the ones who scrimp on running costs where as people that are into them seem to spend a bit more.

The M3 cutters forum has many members spending a lot on expensive modifications, easily adding up to the initial purchase price in some cases with things like AP brake kits, CSL style intakes, decent coilovers and other stuff along like top brand tyres. Obviously there are some people with ebay coiloverz and verdestien/nankang tyres but they are in the minority.

E9x M3's are into the high teens now. Winx sent me a link for an early E92 M3 manual that was up for £13k but had zero service history so that obviously reflected in the price.

[timmzey]

Edited for privacy

[B7]

Lol, nice one

B7 - One for you ?

Already got one thanks. Just need to get round to putting it out of it's misery. Other cars keep taking priority.

[scott180gtb]

This has done some leg but the right colour combo for me. I have never been in one of these turds.

Just how quick are they?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E46-M3-3- ... 2ecd4e628c

[Simon13]

pretty quick, they're geared up pretty short though so the revs are up on motorway

[timmzey]

Edited for privacy

[bss325i]

No-ones mentioned the fact that Headgaskets are prone around 120k... Garage where I took mine had done about 15 Headgaskets already!

Indeed they do go and in extreme cases can erode the cylinder head and/or piston or even in one very extreme case crack the block between the cylinders.

The head gasket failing is down to a couple of things, first of all the main cause is not being run on super unleaded, this a must!
If they are continuously run on normal 95 ron then the combustion temps are raised due to the leaner mixture and the weak point in the combustion chamber is the head gasket between the cylinder.

Once this is breached then if the car is continued to be driven, which often happens as the initial symptoms of the gasket going is a lumpy idle which surprisingly some people have thought is normal for an "performance engine" and pinking which most people dont even notice, then the other further piston/head/block damage can happen.

Quite often it wont even put on the EML light on.

Again, its another thing that can be prevented by not being a tight fisted owner running it on 95.

When buying one, its something you need to try and gauge, quite often in for sale ads it may say things along the lines of "always run on super", enthusiast cars tend to be and overall i would recommend buying a car off a forum member as there is a higher chance its been looked after, had money spent on it and in a lot of cases you can read a thread about the car.

[bss325i]

Just how quick are they?

Yeh, bit disappointed with the Torque to be honest. You have rev the arse off it to really get it going. 6 Speed Box was always a good addition, does really well on a run. Sure I had 40mpg out of it when about 30mpg was advised. that is tickling the throttle at a steady 60-70

Keep them above 4k and they are very rapid.

There is not a chance in hell of getting 40mpg out of one!

You might just about get 30mpg at 60 in 6 with the cruise on.

From my M3 thread,

So today i finished of a tank of V power so thats 62 litres and when i say finished off it was touch and go getting to the Shell petrol station.







So that was a distance of 273.6 miles (prob could have gone a bit further but was chancing it and did about 3 miles at ---- on the cluster and 0 litres on the monitor) covered on a mix of A and B roads with a little bit of fast motorway use and i dont hang about when the chance arises.

So using this calculator,

http://www.calculate-mpg.co.uk/index.php?intro=known

I got 20.06 MPG, pretty close to the cars 20.3 MPG read out, at a cost of 31.48 pence per mile at £1.39.9 per litre.

Not too shabby for a car that will seat 4 in comfort, hit 175 MPH, 60 in 4.8 seconds and lap the 'ring in 8.22 min.

[scott180gtb]

Could you own one of these for a year and not blow a load on upkeep?

Always liked the V8

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-BMW-E39- ... 4acdce9f6c

[Simon13]

No they are dear to run and have their own host of problems. Theres alot of sheds about now, if you kept a few grand war chest and didn't buy a pup and didn't put lots of miles on it you might be ok!

[bss325i]

E39 M5's are an even more expensive prospect to maintain and run. They also have more engine issues in old age.

I nice one is a great thing but most a rubbish and even the nice ones can swallow £2k with ease.

[Blitz]

I've always preferred E46 M3s on 18" wheels. I quite dislike the popular 19s.

[Laith]

I drive my dad's one from time to time. Excellent car on 18's, we got rid of the 19's pretty much straight away.

Over the last few years, it hasn't cost us much except servicing. This ones a facelift manual, but we had an SMG pre-facelift which had a new boot floor from BMW (which btw, was a good job if it wasn't for them not putting the sat nav and radio back together in the boot correctly). With regards to electrics, most of the time it can be solved with a diagnostics tool which is easy to make (check m3cutters forum under the diagnostics section).

It's actually the last car BMW made that can be worked on and maintained at home easily. Both M's we've had have had over 100k miles and pulled like a train on both the road and the dyno. Last best car they made I think (except maybe the 1m, but that's silly money).

If you're gonna get one, I'd get the 16:9 screen, heated seats, no sunroof, 18's and a good service history with no pikey add ons. Avoid SMG if you can, it's amazing but if the pump goes it's not the end of the world but it is a nightmare.

My old laguna seca blue SMG:

[Blitz]

I think the glass sunroof is great. Makes the interior feel much better.

[Laith]

It's nice to have don't get me wrong, its just really heavy. I noticed the difference in a car without one

[spook]

Are the E46 M3s all the same? ie gearboxes/ engines.

Could shift a couple of turds and treat myself.

[bss325i]

Yes, mechanically they remained vertically the same thought production although there were a few minor detail changes. The DSC was revised in 2002 iirc, a strut brace was also added around the same time and from early 2005 all M3's had the CSL exhaust manifold.

The CS had the bigger brakes and quicker rack of the CSL.

When I bought mine i specifically did not want a sunroof and must haves were nav, HK, heated seats, folding mirrors and a manual box.

I have thought about getting some 18's for daily use and keep my genuine 19" CSL wheels for track/show use.

[scott180gtb]

Wrong colour. Nice Spec.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-M3-E46/26 ... 5451178%26

Right Colour. Too much Leg

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 03/1959589

[Blitz]

This is what I would want.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... mid=270672

[bss325i]

This is what I would want.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... mid=270672

To basic. Nav, heated seats and HK are all a must!

The most basic E46 M3 i have seen was also Imola red but it had cloth and a single slot CD player, no other options! Not even the front centre arm rest.

Who ever ordered it must have wanted an M3 bad and really stretched their budget.

Was on an 02 plate.

[senna]

This is what I would want.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... mid=270672

To basic. Nav, heated seats and HK are all a must!

The most basic E46 M3 i have seen was also Imola red but it had cloth and a single slot CD player, no other options! Not even the front centre arm rest.

Who ever ordered it must have wanted an M3 bad and really stretched their budget.

Was on an 02 plate.

Off topic: The most basic E36 M3 I saw was a one owner low mileage 1998 (S reg) Estoril blue.
The chap who ordered it did not put a sunroof/computer/radio or any extras on it. He said it was how he wanted it.

I called him a "tight b.....d" and I bought it from him.